DALLAS – For the second consecutive night, Pau Gasol sat the entire fourth quarter. This time the Los Angeles Lakers power forward was good with it as “Showtime” finally made an eagerly awaited appearance at the expense of the flat-footed Dallas Mavericks.

“Obviously, that’s exactly the situation you want to find yourself in when the game is put away and the starters can rest in the fourth,” Gasol said after the Lakers’ 115-89 Saturday night demolition in a game that was never remotely competitive. “That’s the ideal, and the right way when you want to rest in the fourth.”

The wrong way is apparently being benched in a big game and then to have your new coach, on the bench for all of three games, say he did it to give the team a chance to win. That’s exactly the explanation Mike D’Antoni gave for sitting Gasol late in the third quarter of Friday’s loss at Memphis, and never putting the 7-footer back on the floor.

Even Phil Jackson, as best Gasol can recall, never publicly ripped him right from the jump.

“I don’t know if it was right at the jump, but once [Jackson] got comfortable he could do that. He could do anything he wanted, to be honest,” Gasol said. “So yeah, he knew a couple things that bothered me, and he knew how to get under my skin a little bit.”

D’Antoni said he didn’t try to “disrespect” Gasol, who had six points, missed five of his eight shot attempts and had four boards in 27 minutes before getting the hook. Nor did D’Antoni find it necessary to have a morning chat with Gasol, frustrated by his shot selection in the new offense, to clear any brewing smog.

“I’m starting to know him,” Gasol said of D’Antoni. “It’s not that I pay attention to interviews and what’s said and what’s not being said after games or stuff like that or to the media, but if that’s the way he does things, so be it. Everyone has their own style and character and we have to get used to that, too.”

D’Antoni did say prior to Saturday’s game that Gasol is going to have to get used to the fact that when he shares the floor with center Dwight Howard, jumpers are going to be more Gasol’s thing than his preferred low-post, back-to-the-basket maneuverings.

“He’s going to have to adjust his game,” D’Antoni said. “Now, when Dwight goes out and he’s the 5, we want to get him some looks inside. But again, he’s going to start the game off, about eight minutes worth where he’s going to get some jump shots, and he can make them.”

Gasol, who acknowledged he’s been playing with a “pretty bothersome” case of knee tendinitis, rebounded Saturday night with 13 points on just seven attempts, and seven rebounds in 28 minutes. He scored eight points on 3-for-4 shooting in a 65-38 all-Lakers first half.

And he got his shots from a variety of spots.

His first attempt was an open jumper just above the free-throw line with Howard in the game. When Howard sat, Gasol found himself free twice on rolls to the basket, once for a layup and then for free throws, with Kobe Bryant feeding him both times. Gasol ended the first quarter with a pretty, gliding hook shot through the lane, again with Howard on the bench.

Gasol said he realizes, as does Howard, that shot attempts will vary from game to game. Howard, for instance, got 11 shots up Saturday night, equaling his combined attempts in the previous two games.

“Yeah, I’ll find ways, I’ll find ways,” Gasol said of getting more close-range shots. “I just have to be proactive and put myself in positions to do that. We’re in this together. And that’s how it’s supposed to be. It takes a little time to figure things out, another little bit of an adjustment period. It’s still early, this is what just the fourth game that he’s coached?”

Long enough for D’Antoni to send a message one night, and for Gasol to answer back the next.

93 Comments

YaWN…….. THE cHeat has no bench hahahaha. please admit it BENCH: JAMISON>lewis……. meekshaslem……. DUHON>cole……. BLAKE>miller…….. MORRIS>harris…….. EBANKS=ANTHONY………… clarkjones ………… SACRE>pittman…….. os it’s clear that lakers has better bench than the heat but they just not given strong min.

who got blown out by the KINGS? whats the lakers record (.500) hahhah? Who won the championship last year with this roster and beat the thunder in 5 in the finals? Who added another three point shooter to their roster? If you say lakers bench is better than the heats than look at the total pts heats bench putup this yr compared to the lakers bench and you will see a huge difference of how low lakers bench pts were this season.

If the heats bench was really that bad they wouldve never won the championship last yr. You not even adding allen to your little conversation is saying allen is better than all of the lakers players but i wont admitt it.

Good morning from Europe. Pau Gasol has a lot of credit, he is a terrific player and always is been playing with great attitude and smartness. Take a look at this statistics since Memphis time, always great. There is no PG as him in the league, so a sharing players, no selfishness. So, A.Jamison was great, once, but now is a lazy player, and D´antoni, what are we looking for? he is a looser…

Almost all the shots from 5 or 6 meters as a base. He leads his life playing in the zone and now they want to play shooter. It is crazy, so they do not need to Gasol.If you do not have the intelligence to use one of the greatest talents in court that transferred it once.It is as if Kobe you are told that you play now pivot. D´Antoni, all Championships are won on defense, not attack.

kobe has got to be the strongest player mentally of all time. he takes players like pau gasol trevor ariza and shannon brown talks them into over acheiving and winning rings. pau was a loser with the grizzlies kobe tells pau you have to play your heart out against howard and garnett for 2 rings and pau obliged. now pau is resting on his laurels. someone needs to tell him to play the way he did in the olympics with pride. p.s. stop forgetting you are a seven footer and stop being lazy.

The Lakers should trade Gasol for key bench players, and draft picks. Gasol must feel left out and his anger is growing after being involved in the CP3 trade that didn’t go through last year. It’s only best for the Lakers if they wanna keep up with a team like the Heat. The Lakers cannot trade Gasol to any strong west contenders such as the Nuggets, or the Grizzlies. They should make Gasol go to a non contender that needs a star to have them contending like the Timberwolves, or the Rockets. With all this the Lakers should have a chance to challenge the Heat for this years title and this is all coming from a person who supports the Celtics and the Clippers

D’Antoni is alright, he’s one of those coaches with a signature systems that’s been proven in the NBA, much like Phil Jackson with the Triangle. Everybody criticizes him for this defense, but his Suns team were actually a average defensive team with Stoudemire and Nash as focal points in the team, which isn’t too bad.

Gasol is still one of the best big men in the league, he can finish in the low post, and shoot the mid-range jumper. The problem is Howard can’t, Howard NEEDS to be in the paint to be effective and it forces Gasol to come out of the paint to shoot that 17ft jumper. Two 7footers in the paint isn’t necessarily a good thing because they clog up the paint too much. The only superstar duo at the PF and centre position I can remember was Duncan and Robinson, in which both could hit the mid range jumper and did not clog the paint as much.

If the Lakers are looking to trade Gasol, they should look to trade for Bargnani, or Ryan Anderson + draft picks.

If not, Gasol just have to adjust to his new role. It’s not the system, it’s just how the game works. Two bigs in the paint clogs it up, it’s much less effective to have two bigs in the paint than one.

Mike is definitely wrong on this one! If you’re going to match him with the Knicks….. I won’t be surprised if the Lakers lose cause the Big Men position is nearly no match! Right now I can tell my teams weakness at south beach is the 4-5 position and the Lakers must take advantage of that with Howard and Gasol but if Mike D’Antoni is going with this Gasol 6th man……. there’s going to be another parade in downtown Miami this 2013. I don’t want to cause some ruckus to some Laker fans here but it’s best that we wait for D’Antoni decision on making another rotation or we wait for Dwightmare 2.0 before we reach trade deadline and see if DH12 will be wearing Purple and Gold until the end of the playoffs and see how Mike D’Antoni forms another set of plays here

OK I’m confused why’d the Lakers pick D’antoni it’s clear is just an average coach his .530 winning percentage proofs that. In addition he can’t coach defense and his run and gun style doesn’t win championships (defense does). D’antoni’s coaching style is like a baseball manager trying to make a power hitting line-up play small ball. Kobe, Dwight, Pau, Metta will never tribe nor win a ring as a run and gun team. Picture this the Lakers trying to run and gun in a playoff series against the young bucks in OKC, or Miami or even the Clippers for that matter. Stay tuned is might get ugly.

I like Gasol! He is a very good and versatile Player and who wouldn’t want to have him on the 4 …

But … Thats the problem – Since i saw him play i ever thought of him as a 5 not a 4 – Yeah he can play the 4 as
well but the 5 is more like his natural position …

Ok i’m not a Lakers Fan but i still wouldn’t want him to leave L.A. – him and Kobe were a damn good One Two Punch
in the Past but now with Howard … Nash + Dantoni, Kobe and Matter finnaly playin better it woukd make sence for me
to try and trade him to ATL for Josh Smith – if ATL would do that – don’t get me wrong, im not sayin Josh would be better than Pau (its rather hard to compare them Pau = 4/5 Josh = 3/4 and other style of playin offense and defense) but what would ATL do with AL Horford, ZAZA and Pau?!

But if this trade would be made … Josh and Howard are good friends and he would flurish in Dantonis system – could spread the floor – attack the rim with more athletism and just whatch the lineup:

PG: Nash
SG: Kobe
SF: Metta
PF: Josh Smith
C; Dwight

Scary … (STill no L.A Fan)

Bench instead of Antawn, Joedan Hill and the white PG (im white as well but cant remember his name right now haha) is pretty much trash at an NBA Level – so Champs will still be difficult but in Dantonis System and for chemistry i think the trade would be good for L.A

Please stop saying Howard isn’t 100% because he is. Right now that’s just a excuse statement. His numbers aren’t low because of his health. It’s because of adjusting to two different systems in a short amount of time.

gasol is a lazy, heartless, worthless and runs worse than a calf comin out of the shoot. for anyone to say hes one of the best in the nba is insane. he plays if his parts dont hurt him. you cant motivate him, unless you scratch his belly like a fricken dog im thinkin. for the last few years, he plays when he wants, thats not very often. set him on the bench for his, what is it 18 million cause hes not motivated? REALLY. trade him for charles barkley, then gasol can fix his hair before he goes on tv. i love the lakers but hate lazy butt players, hell i can grab 5 boards a game and im old AND SHORT. they should have traded him 3 years ago, when he looked like he had value. now whats he got? NOTHIN

You people dont understand the problem is the team as a whole not working fine together yet. Too many turnovers, slow transitions back to deffense, weak deffense, terrible free throws percentages… It’s not Gasol or the lack of Nash or Howard not giving his best. Its all together. You wont solve this by trading Gasol. You just need patience to ensemble this pack of stars together. If Dantoni manages to get that (wich I doubt) we have a candidate to the ring here. If not Lakers are probably the 18th-24th best team in the league.

Gasol should go to Memphis to help & get another ring! Or he could go to Brooklyn! He might go to the Clippers. The Spurs. Denver. Any of those teams would be championship candidates with Gasol. He should get over the dazzeling glimmering holiwood lights. The Lakers are through…. Fire the coach! And then the managers.

im smelling jealousy ….because the heat can actually work out chemistry with there stars and get that ring. The lakers cant. Who did pat riley leave? the lakers and went to the heat so ha. Faker fans are a bunch of bandwagon fans and just expect any star to come to there team because they in hollywood. Example, faker fans hate lebron and if lebron went to la 9which would never happen)they would love him

what im saying is the lakers seem to just throw talented players together and expect it to work. Laker fans automatically think wow we are going to win it all and the lakers dont even have any chemistry going. Atleast when the heat win a championship and make it work they can add other solid players to there championship mix. Btw if i were on the old celtic team with the big old ticket garnett id be heading to south beach as well to play with the best player to ever play the game lbj.

Huge LAKERS FAN I am! And I understand that in order for us to be what we want to be, people have to be held accountable for their actions or lack there of. Pau was coasting and we know it. If this dude can jack up a three, he’d damn sure better be willing to take the mid range shots for the team. This is what an all star sounds like. “It doesn’t matter what system you put me in, I’m going to get mines” -Kobe Bryant-

That’s right. Pau and Lamar were coasting for years until they finally started buying in to Phil and won championships. J Hill needs to step it up just like Lamar O did and play like an all star for Lakers to go all the way. If Hill doesn’t then of course A Jamison should become all star/6th man for them to win it all. Pau needs to once again step it up and believe he gonna get his. I know he will step it up in the playoffs and say give me the freakin ball.

Obviously people do not realize that with bernie we went 4-1 or 5-1 one of those with him its more balanced and our defense looked better mike is a good offensive coach…… i think the players have to come up with a defense their self bc mike does not know how to

MD is not the type of coach that would bench a starter because of missing shots. Pau got benched because of his lack of effort on both ends of the floor and Jaimson is ON FIRE for the past two games. Last game Lakers was trying to catch up so naturally kept Jaimson in the game.

MD is sending a message to every starter and not just Pau. If you are not producing, he will bench you to win games instead of “saving your face”.

MD wasn’t this “aggressive” as a coach but I think the Lakers’ management forces him to do so. It’s no secret that they want to trade Pau away so making him a bench player will only reduce his value.

To be honest, MD makes it clear that when Howard is in the game, Pau needs to shoot more and Pau has shown that he CAN shoot. MD is more annoyed by the fact that he “thinks” he can’t be a shooter. That part annoys MD.

Hello from greece:)
Its obv that d’antoni might have probs with gasol. I also think that when the big name arrived (Dwight)
he somehow got to the sideline. He’s x-game is gone and now its normal to react like this. But he can work and listen ton his coach..but we are talking about GASOL! :P
D antoni needs also a fast team(see Marion on old goot times phx) on the front line)
I’d really like to see Steve coming back.Its sure that LA’s game will improve a lot

I totally think Phil Jackson would be the better coach for the Lakers. The last time the Lakers had a star big man in Shaq, now with Dwight, the triangle got them 3 championships. I also think that pau needs to play more of a mid-range game. Openning up the post for D12.

The ideal big to put alongside Howard in this system is someone like Chris Bosh or Kevin Love but realistically the best trade they could get for Gasol is a b-grade big with a 3-point shot plus an athletic wing for their bench.

the solution is obvious… use Pau Gasol as the 6th man and insert Antawn Jamison in the starting line up.
that way D12, Kobe and Nash get the spacing they need in the starting line up with Jamison’s 3-Pt shooting.
Sub in Gasol after 6 – 8 minutes for Antawn or Metta.
Once Howard comes out for his rest near the 10 min mark, Gasol can shift to the center spot and play with his back to the basket like he wants with the 2nd unit.
Pair Gasol with the hustling Jordan Hill, and you’ll have a solid front court even when the starters are resting.
Put Gasol back in the game at crunch time and everyone is happy.
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Yea that would be great and have Nash also come off the bench and this way you have great bench and great line up but I wouldn’t be surprised if the lakers traded Pau Gasol for Amare Stoudemire

Gasol is not a true center in my opinion because back when they played the celtics in 08 he got pounded on the boards & wasn’t bulky enough to deal with perk & KG and of course they lost but when big bynum came back the next 2 years they won back to back championships with his bulk, length, strength, rebounding & shot blocking. It also proves he can play with another post up player like Bynum & the lane won’t be to clogged up for the guards.

I feel bad for Gasol cause its guaranteed that everytime the Lakers go on a bad stretch he will get the blame again and again like its happening consistently the last 2 years, i hope they get better but with D’antoni their gunna be exposed in close games against elite teams cause he cant coach and make plays when needed.

Maybe if Gasol would try to defense a little bit more, the fact that he is missing lots of shots would not matter to D’Antony. But since he is incapable of a decent defense (Gosh! It is not that hard to have your freaking long arms up or to switch to help. It is basketball 101!!!!) He better stays sat down. Glad to see a coach who had the “cojones” to do that!

If you have one of the best big men in the league, PLAY HIM AT THE POST. It’s simple. D’Anotni’s reputation is on the line, not Gasol’s. We are starting to understand that Phil was definitely the best option for LAL.

I’m with D’antoni on this one. There are times when Gasol disappears for no apparent reason other than “not getting the right touches at the right spots”. Well, on such a star-studded team (especially with Howard) you will most definitely not get the shot you like each time down the floor, you have to go get it and work for it, and complain less about it to the media. He could also use some buffing up to push people more in the post. Gasol is a superb player, but D’antoni was right to call him out publicly on this one. He needed it. That’s my 2c.

Obviously, Gasol is not a good fit for D’antoni. He needs a 4 who can spread the floor, shoot, run… What about Andrea Bargnani? He has a potential that has never been fully exploited, maybe for his own issues, maybe because he never was in a system that could get the most out of him. So, Toronto could ship Bargnani and Calderon to LA for Pau.
Toronto would get a superstar who could provide leadership and experience, and get rid of 2 problems (Bargnani’s failed expectations and Calderon not enjoying his role, how it’s been in the past years).
The Lakers would get a good, reliable backup for Steve Nash, who can let him rest easily, and I’m sure would accept to start from the bench in a contender, and a 4 who is perfect for D’Antoni’s system.
I haven’t done the math, but to me this seems like a win-win situation.

I’m no Lakers fan, but this makes sense to me. If TO really sees Bargs and Calderon as problems, a trade for Gasol would be a treat. They lost their PF/C superstar when Bosh left for MIA (hey, for them, Bosh IS a superstar). If they get Gasol, he can be the new face of the franchise and be a good In/Out combo with Derozan. With the Lakers, Bargnani can play his game more, being a Dirk-type of PF. And Calderon should be happy getting exposure, playing for title contenders, even if just as a back-up.

So, Howard will be missing his free throws and Gasol will be missing his mid-range
shots and a 7 from 30 Kobe will be blaming Gasol… Great plan!!!!

Gasol is a center with lots of moves, not a mi-range shooter. Yes he can score some
from around the basket but in the end he will be scoring 10-14 points which a waste
for a player of his caliber and nowhere near his potential.

Howard is a monster but that’s about it. Yes he can dunk and shove his way to the basket
but he a terrible shooter and a nightmare from the free throw line.

I don’t see how this will work for D’ Antoni, unless he has some secret plan to transform
Howard to free throw machine and Gasol to Olajuwon..

You should check your facts wise guy. Kobe has been shooting 50% from the field and did the same last night. He only averages about 25 a game and that’s where he should be. Howard is working on his free throws, that’s why some night % is horrendous. If he can get to 60-65% at the charity stripe during the playoffs then we’ll be fine. Gasol is going to be our x-factor, just as Bosh is for the Heat. We don’t win the trophy if he doesn’t play well. And yes, he can make mid range jumpers and should get almost half of his points outside the paint. Howard is our beast in the middle. If Pau can’t get it done and our record doesn’t improve to .600 soon then he’ll be on his way to a new city. Nash, Kobe, and Howard can get it done w/ other role players.

the solution is obvious… use Pau Gasol as the 6th man and insert Antawn Jamison in the starting line up.
that way D12, Kobe and Nash get the spacing they need in the starting line up with Jamison’s 3-Pt shooting.
Sub in Gasol after 6 – 8 minutes for Antawn or Metta.
Once Howard comes out for his rest near the 10 min mark, Gasol can shift to the center spot and play with his back to the basket like he wants with the 2nd unit.
Pair Gasol with the hustling Jordan Hill, and you’ll have a solid front court even when the starters are resting.
Put Gasol back in the game at crunch time and everyone is happy.

I agree. Gasol doesn’t have that big of an ego so coming in @ the 6 minute mark would be ideal. Gives us more options at the 4 and 5 throughout the game and we’ll always have a guy coming off fresh. Hill and Gasol could play together fine. Then at crunchtime you have the current starters in. Artest has been playing well so I don’t see Jamison ever playing in the last 5 minutes.

You are right Pau and Howard they shouldn’t be at same time on the floor. That game showed you the answer. Start Jamison or Hill with Howard. Then take Howard out for rest and put in Pau. You will be maximizing and strengthen the bench front court with Pau skills. Pau is a very good and skilled player I don’t think they should trade him at all. Use him with the bench for now until Howard gets to 100%. Also as we can see Pau can’t sustain playing long minutes. May be around 30-28 minutes is good. That’s the way they should played on there season opener and that the way they should play every night. They should blowout more than 80% of the NBA teams. Less than that is absolute disappointment.

I’m afraid you just gave the Lakers an oppertunity to get a little further… some people are still ignorant and think players with big contracts automatically have to start and finish games. Welcome in 2012: Coaches who want to win, look for good combinations of players on the floor, when possible for 48 minutes. If that means you’ll have to let such a player come from the bench, just do so! This will be the solution for the Knicks, and it could work for the Lakers as well.

PUT PAU 6 MAN TO CENTER-WITH EBANKS TAKING PAU PLACE THEN HILL, JAMI, MEEKSA PG {?}PLAY OFF THE BENCH TWO VERY GOOD TEAMS PAU GETS SOME REST & AND HAS THE BACK TO THE BASKET– I BELIEVE THAT WOULD WORK GREAT?===LAKER FAN

hes way too old by looking at him this year i can tell his age is catching up to him. I already knew lakers wouldnt be anything this yr. Howard only scored a total of 14 pts in 2 games straight and kobe is taking too many shots and he went 7 for 23 the other night. Noone can beat the heat i mean when they double team lebron or wade whos goin to be wide open in the corner for three? ray allen , or battier thats what happend last yr and now they just added ray allen. They proved they dont need a true center. Thats why i say heat got it again. Fake show are just too old getting blown out by the kings lol than you know no championship for them for awhile.